India’s new cricket coach-Fletcher

Fletcher, who captained Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup and played just six one-dayers during the African nation's pre-Test days, had mixed results as England coach. The high points of his career were England's Ashes triumph over Australia in the home series of 2005, England's first series win in West Indies in 36 years and the team earning the third spot in Test rankings. Fletcher was the first foreigner to coach England's cricket team. Known to be a task-master, he guided England to eight straight Test wins. The biggest moment came in 2005 when England bested a star-studded Australian team to win the Ashes for the first time since 1987. The Zimbabwean was honoured by Britain's Royalty with an OBE. But later, England's form slid and his performance came under the scanner. England managed to draw series in India and Pakistan but the 0-5 whitewash in the 2006-07 Ashes series in Australia led to widespread criticism of Fletcher, who refused to step down at that stage. England's early exit from the 2007 World Cup forced him to quit. Fletcher, whose name was reportedly suggested to the BCCI by Kirsten himself, has a tough job on hands as the amiable South African has set a high benchmark and finished the stint with the World Cup win. With Kirsten at the helm, India reached the top of Test rankings and number two in the ODIs. He gave up the job to spend more time with his family.

Australian cricketers

While big money has come to dominate the game, it remains the diversion of choice for millions of fans in some of the world's poorest regions. For them, to borrow a sentiment from the great English football coach, Bill Shankley, cricket isn't a matter of life and death, it's more important than that. The truth of this is confirmed in Zimbabwe

As such, the proposed tour of the Australia A test cricket team to Zimbabwe in July looms as a shining light on the horizon for many of Zimbabwe's suffering population. It is true that our country still struggles to reconcile the notions of democracy with the atavistic remnants of dictatorship. No one is more frustrated and disappointed by such a situation than me. Yet, for this, we cannot punish the vast majority of Zimbabweans who look forward to the simple joy of watching top-class international cricket and whom, as was proven in the 2008 elections, support democracy.

In this light, attempts to force Australia out of the tour, coming from those within Australian cricket, are perplexing and damaging to the collective heart of most Zimbabweans. In fact, they are wrong. Many Zimbabweans, including myself, have the greatest admiration for the former Australian test player Stuart MacGill, and especially for the principled stance he took in 2004 to not tour Zimbabwe as a member of the Australian test squad. Then, the situation demanded such a response. He has now become the highest profile nay-sayer in regard to the up-coming tour. He is wrong.

Cricket in Zimbabwe is in a vastly improved state and the nation as a whole has made significant strides forward, despite hardliners within Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party who have caused such turmoil. While no one would argue that the situation in Zimbabwe is perfect, it is unrecognisably better than when MacGill chose not to tour. In many ways the situation in Zimbabwe is similar to pre and post-1990 South Africa. Before the release of Nelson Mandela, it was wholly inappropriate for sporting teams to have anything to do with the apartheid regime. After Mandela's release, however, it was entirely appropriate that, for example, an all-white test team should tour the West Indies in 1991, well before the conclusion of the transition to democracy.

At the time the South Africans toured the West Indies, South Africa was still in a very fragile state. The entire country was wracked by violence and was being ground in the machinations of extremists. The international community supported these tentative steps to reintegrate South Africans into international sport because it was recognised that sport could be a force for good and could help the country reconcile. Zimbabwe today is in a similar position. Our transition is fragile and uncertain. There are extremists who would like to derail the transitional government. But progress is being made, albeit slow. A constitutional reform process is under way, independent newspapers are back on the streets, health clinics are being refurbished, schools are reopen, the economy is stabilising, hyperinflation has been dealt with.

Finally, the issue of safety for such a touring party must be addressed. As I know from bitter personal experience, Zimbabwe can be a very dangerous place if one is a politician or activist opposed to Zanu PF. However, for most Zimbabweans and for those visiting Zimbabwe, the country is one of the most peaceful, violence-and-crime-free countries in the world. Zimbabwe is certainly far safer than India or South Africa, regular venues for Australian touring cricketers. We do not have the bomb threats India has and our crime levels are way below that of South Africa. The New Zealand ''A'' side toured Zimbabwe late last year and remarked how welcomed they were and how peaceful the country was.

Indeed, there is much to celebrate in today's Zimbabwe and there is is much to underpin the support of international sporting teams to aid in the process of further unifying the country via the ''soft'' nationalism of international sporting competition. People who have opposed Mugabe's Zanu-PF regime for decades such as Morgan Tsvangirai and myself have personally asked the international community to assist this fragile process through tours of this nature. Likewise, resolute campaigners for freedom and democracy in Zimbabwe, including well-known figures such as former Zimbabwean cricketers Henry Olonga, Heath Streak, Andy Flower (now the England cricket coach) and Alistair Campbell have all backed foreign tours to Zimbabwe. Have those who would seek to spurn all these efforts spoken to such experts regarding the role of cricket in Zimbabwe's progress to freedom?